Lorempuer: The Uprising of McDougall
by Evilmouse
Summary: Many years after the Days of Darkness, Kenna McDougall must ward off her rising infamy and deep rivalry to discover her family's dark secrets in the wizarding world. Lorempuer is meant to give her a sense of belonging. But no one is safe. OCs galore.


Chapter One : Kenna

It's dark. Where is everyone? I'm alone.

I watched the lazily swirling patterns of the the blackness shift and twist slowly, just as bored as I was. I wasn't entirely sure where I was. It was warm. I felt safe.

The apparitions that were writhing about turned and faced the glass window, where the grayish light of early dawn lit up the room. We watched in silence, unmoving, staring out upon the lake as the horizon lit up with the early sun, appearing as a blob of white light peeking through the thick gray clouds.

I elbowed Henrietta awake, grabbing her shoulder and forcing her to sit up before she could protest. "Look at 'at ," I whispered to her, pointing to the sunrise. She blinked groggily, reaching over to hold my hand and tilt her head, as if to ask why I awoke her just to watch the sun go up in the sky.

With a wave goodbye, the ghosts of shadow retreated back to underneath my bed, squabbling slightly as they crammed together in the small space. I squinted against the morning light, groping about my nightstand and putting on my shades. Much better.

Henrietta got out of my bed and dressed out of her sleepwear, slipping on her robes as I did the same. She tightened my white tie as the other girls slowly woke up, tiredly mumbling their good mornings and flopping into their uniforms while we made our way down to breakfast.

I passed Branwen Adda in the hall, giving Henrietta and I a dirty look through the cloud of Ravenclaw friends she had. I felt tempted to throw a hiss at her (I had been practicing, it sounded quite realistic), though Henrietta held my arm firm and subtly guided me away, into the Great Hall.

Filled with candles and light, the hall always blurred my normal vision, though I could see the shadows rippling cautiously along the walls and in between the chairs, hiding beneath the tables as students milled about. We drifted over to the Gryffindor table, sitting next to Celeste as he was finishing a story from his earlier childhood that involved hunting down a bear in the wilderness or something. I was half-listening, as one of the shadow people had begun to dance along the floor and I was too occupied with watching amusedly to hear him.

Zane grinned, showing off his sharp teeth and teasing, "Yeah, right! There ain't any way you could'a killed a brown bear with your bare hands."

Celeste replied defensively, "But I did! You lack faith, comrade!" They seemed a bit more energetic than usual, arguing over the authenticity of the story while I scooped up some porridge, eating as Branwen stared me down from her seat at the Ravenclaw table. I curled my upper lip and bared my crooked teeth at her, grinning as she turned her attention to her food, a look of annoyance plastered on her face.

After breakfast was Flying. Henrietta had to pretty much drag me, kicking and screaming, out to the courtyard after going to the dorms and grabbing my sun mask so that my eyes didn't get scorched in the light, though it was overcast as usual. Cursing grumpily, I slipped the mask on and stepped into the sunlight, squinting painfully against the glare.

Madam Dewhurst greeted us with a frown, scolding, "Late again, McDougall." She handed us each a broom, which seemed pointless to me, and class continued as normal. I refused to fly, as always. I hated flying, there was no way I was sitting on some little stick fifty feet in the air. I much preferred my feet firmly on the ground, thank you. I sat in the grass, watching the students zip around on their crummy little broomsticks as I killed ants with my fingers. I turned to face my shadow, who smiled and waved at me, humming softly.

I smiled, waving back and poking her hand, which rippled like waves on a pond as she retracted it, hissing like an irritated cat. I said softly, "Sorry, hen," I placed my hand on hers, and she morphed and migrated up my arm and hid herself in the shadows of the inside of my robe, purring contentedly.

I had always had the ability to see, touch and hear shadows as well as spirits, invisible items and spells, creatures, you name it, but I was especially good at reading people's emotions and thoughts through their expressions and body language. My shadow (I had named her Eara) wasn't visible to normal people, and though Henrietta and a few other students could just barely see her too, she was most fond of me for some reason.

Eara got startled and zipped off inside the castle when I was rammed in the back with a broomstick, toppling over and cringing in pain on the ground before turning and shouting angrily, "Fa th' heel did 'at?"

Branwen dismounted her broom and stretched. "Sorry, McDougall." She said, crossing her arms. "I missed. I was aiming for your daft head."

Losing my temper, I got to my feet and screamed, "Ye glaikit huir! I'll kill ye if ye dae 'at again!" Henrietta and another student from Gryffindor rushed over and grabbed my arms before I could smack the smartass right across the mouth, still shouting, "What's yer problem? Lit me gie 'er, she deserves a smack ur tois!"

She said, "What's wrong? You looked so alone, talking to yourself like a weirdo, so I thought I could keep you company."

Madam Dewhurst rushed over and demanded, "What's going on here, Adda?"

I yelled, "Thes haur smartie cam an' hit me wi' 'er broomstick!"

Madam Dewhurst said angrily, "McDougall, keep your tongue!" turning to Branwen, she asked, "Is this true?" Branwen nodded, and Madam Dewhurst said, looking surprised, "Adda...I'm disappointed in you. I should expect more of such a talented student like yourself in the future. Come with me, please."

Branwen followed her silently, glancing at me for a second, a smug, superior look in her eyes glimmering through the haze of her 'good-girl' status. That just set me off. As soon as Henrietta loosened her grip on my arm, I bolted away from them and pounced right on Branwen, punching her face and pulling her hair and tearing at her clean robes. We fought like wildcats for a split second before nearly the entire class ripped us away from each other. Branwen's fingers gripped the edge of my mask, prying it off my face as we were pulled apart. I screamed, squeezing my eyes shut and covering them with my hands, still thrashing as Madam Dewhurst grabbed both of us by our long hair and dragged us off to the headmaster's office.

Ten minutes later, we were sitting at opposite ends of the bench outside the headmaster's office as Madam Dewhurst gave a report of what happened to Headmaster MacFarlane. I was tempted to start fighting her again, but I was worried I might get in even deeper trouble. Besides, my temper had cooled off a bit, and the aching pain where she had hit me with the broomstick hurt even more than the bruises and scratches that peppered each of our faces, and my eyes were still sore from her pulling off my mask.

I grumbled, squinting, "Thes wooldnae hae happened if ye hadnae bin a damn divit, Adda."

"I wasn't the one who went completely mental," She replied coldly.

I sighed, crossing my arms and turning my head away from her. "Wa dae ye despise me sae much, anyways?"

"Maybe because your accent is so annoying."

I turned and said, exasperated, "Yoo're kiddin'."

"If you really need to know that badly," She looked intense, "It's because your mum's a jerk."

I said, annoyed, "Whit ur ye daein', insultin' mah mum loch 'at? Whit diz she hae tae dae wi' anythin'?" She stared at her shoes, crossing her arms and not replying. I growled, "Whatever. Yoo're useless." Madam Dewhurst stepped out, waving for the both of us to come in. She looked very cross, sitting us down in chairs in front of the headmaster's desk.

Headmaster MacFarlane threaded her fingers together, staring at each of us for a moment before saying without much emotion, "Can you girls please explain your actions? Adda?"

Branwen said, all business, "I was riding my broomstick during Broom Flight Class, and I wanted to try a dive, but my broomstick went off course an-"

I cut her off, saying incredulously, "That's nae whit happened! Th' dumb girlie tried tae whack me in th' back ay mah heed wi' th' glaikit broomstick! A' vreyone saw it! She e'en said she was aimin' fur mah heed!"

MacFarlane held her hand up, saying, "McDougall. Let Adda explain, please."

Branwen cleared her throat and continued, "As I was saying, I tried a dive, but my broomstick went off course-likely a faulty one-and I accidentally ran into McDougall-she should've been on a broom-who was just sitting there, talking to herself, and I accidentally ran over her. I apologized, but she began cursing-a terrible mouth, really-and tried to attack me. Her 'friends' had to actually hold her back like a beast, and of course she told the professor utter lies about what happened-a terrible liar, as well-and Madam Dewhurst was about to lead me over to speak with you when she attacked me, and pinned me down. I was forced to use self-defense." She leaned back in her chair, like a lawyer that had just rested her case. Prick.

MacFarlane turned to me, saying flatly, "And McDougall? What do you have to say for yourself?"

I was careful about not shouting. "She hit me in th' back loch a psycho, oan purpose, 'en started tauntin' me loch a prick, sae Ah thooght she coods use a guid beatin'. Mem Dewhurst cam alang an' took 'er awa', but th' swatch she gae me gart me lose mah temper, sae Ah grabbed 'er an' punched some sense intae 'er. 'En we baith got in trooble." MacFarlane nodded, leaning back in her seat and looking serious.

"Alright, you two. Fights are strictly forbidden on school grounds, and you both specifically have fought the most. If a teacher, or anybody, catches either of you fighting again, I will personally tie you both to the Whomping Willow and throw rocks at you. Do I make myself clear?" We nodded quickly, genuine worry on our faces. The Whomping Willow was no laughing matter.

For the rest of the day, I skipped classes and hung around the edge of the Forbidden Forest, careful to not actually go in, as the creatures living there seemed to have an odd interest in me, babbling on and on about my parents and such. The last time I had gone in there was when I found Eara, sitting in the shadows underneath a little flower, all alone, like an abandoned baby. She had jumped right into my robes without me noticing. It was certainly a surprise to find an unknown shadow following me around the next day.

I sat down on a boulder, relaxing and toying with some rocks, levitating them and doing a bit of juggling.The bit of downtime didn't last long, as the groundskeeper, Maria, chased me off, possibly thinking I was a creature from the forest or something. There was no telling with that nut. Her eyes had about as much use to her as a chipped glass hammer.

Bored, annoyed and tired of running away from Maria's mop, I met up with Henrietta in the Lorempuer club room, which was a newer room added in for the students part of Lorempuer, a special side club for unusual students, like half-breeds and freaks like me. It was mostly empty, as most of the students were away at dinner, save for a few kids playing Exploding Snap near the oversized table. We flopped onto the mismatched furniture by the large fireplace, both exhausted from trying to find the other and in desperate need of sleep.

We dragged ourselves up the steps into the Gryffindor girl's dorm, both plopping into my bed, not even bothering to change into our sleepwear as we crashed to the sheets.

My dreams are usually pretty nice, if not really weird, and this time it started out as just some stupid little dream about a huge flower in the middle of the Forbidden Forest and a bunch of shadow people dancing around it, letting me join in. We all danced and had a bonfire that smelled like Branwen, which made me happy because it made it seem like we were burning her. Suddenly, she kept popping up out of nowhere, in my face, behind the crowds of shadow people, everywhere. It was more annoying than it was creepy, until she finally actually jumped right out of the bonfire, shouting at me and telling me stuff like, "Your mum's a jerk," and "You're totally mental!" and repeating over and over, "Weirdo, weirdo, weirdo."

The flower started to get bigger and bigger, drooping and turning brown. Out of the flower leaped a bunch of people, men, women and even children, dressed in pitch-black tattered robes and makeup that made them look almost like dementors. They chased after the shadow people, throwing them in cages made of paper as Branwen came up right behind me and ran a finger along the side of my jaw, whispering in my ear while her warm breath sent tingles running up and down my spine, "You_ freak_."

I collapsed, and she seemed to collapse with me. I realized the scene had changed. We were now in the Lorempuer room, only it was completely empty, devoid of furniture and paintings, only the large mirror above the fireplace remained. Looking into it, I saw Branwen staring back, only she looked just as surprised as I was. I blinked. She blinked. I waved my hand, and she waved hers. Every movement I made, she made as well. A perfect mirror. She reached out to me, climbing through the mirror and taking my hand.

As we both melted down into bright colors and swirling patterns, she whispered to me, "Trust them...the ones...with the golden eyes..." And we were ripped apart.


End file.
